The teenage Gove was bright, inquiring and actually rather popular, says old English master

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Michael Gove once joked that his own teachers must feel like Dr Frankenstein,
who had unleashed a monster on the world. That’s not how Mike Duncan — who
taught the education secretary English at Robert Gordon’s College — sees it.
“He was one of the most inquiring pupils I ever remember teaching,” Mr
Duncan recalls.

“At the start of every lesson a hand would go up and it would be Michael. The
thought would go through my mind, ‘What is he going to ask me now and will I
know the answer?’”

Although he was clearly very bright, “he wasn’t an introverted,

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Michael Gove and Mike Duncan at Robert Gordon’s College

June 19 2014 Alan Richardson

Michael Gove and Mike Duncan at Robert Gordon’s College

June 19 2014 Alan Richardson

For many in the teaching profession, Michael Gove has become a hate figure as he tramples over traditions and rams through reform

June 19 2014 Getty Images

The drama department at St Edward’s School in Oxford has produced a play called Who’s Afraid of Michael Gove?